Martin Taupau's imprint may still be on Alex Johnston's chest with the South Sydney flyer unable to shy away from footage of the Taupau's lethal fend.

Taupau sent Johnston flying when the South Sydney fill in fullback tried to halt a charging Taupau from scoring a try in the Rabbitohs last start loss to the Tigers. Taupau had burst through the South Sydney defensive line with only Johnston standing in his way of scoring.

Johnston was shrugged backwards, landing on his backside, as Taupau crashed over the try line.

"I've seen it a couple of times on social media," Johnston said. "Nothing that concerns me too much. He got me good. He timed it well. He is pretty solid. He is a big bloke.

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"I probably wouldn't go as high [if I had the chance again] and get away from that arm. It was close to the line. I was just trying to attack the footy but I wasn't really expecting it. He got me off guard."

The tackle was an initiation of sorts into the fullback position for Johnston. Johnston has spent the bulk of his first grade career on the wing since bursting onto the scene last year, having come through the junior grades as a fullback. A premiership and a Test cap already to his name, Johnston wants to be the long-term fullback option at South Sydney.

He filled that void while Greg Inglis was unavailable through Origin, a player Johnston has begun to shadow as he develops his fullback skills.

"I'm trying to be there one day," said Johnston, who recently signed a two-year extension to remain at the Rabbitohs. "Right now I'm just trying to learn off Greg Inglis which is great for me. The game on the weekend was still one of my first games back there.

"Even at training he is helping me, telling me what I can do better. Outside of footy [Inglis tells me] to relax and get away from it all. Tipping me up when to get my hands on the ball."

The Rabbitohs were poor in their last start, losing 34-6 to the Tigers before last week's bye. Coach Michael Maguire put the squad through intense training sessions in lieu of a game before giving them a couple of days off last week.

Johnston said the team needed to improve ahead of their clash against Manly on Friday night. The game will double as the first time George and Tom Burgess will cross paths with brother Luke since the oldest Burgess brother made a late pre-season switch to the Sea Eagles.

"[The Tigers game] is not the type of footy we want to play," Johnston said. "We took it on the chin and want to learn off it.

"[Manly] are always a great side. Where they are on the ladder it doesn't matter. The last performance is last performance. We take that as a learning curve. Things didn't go our way, didn't go my way. We have to focus on picking ourselves up and having a good game against Manly."